GALLERY

Jockey Corey Lanerie, left, takes the lead aboard I’ll Hatch Another in the annual Ostrich Stakes race at Ellis Park race track in Henderson, Ky., Saturday, July 28, 2012. Lanerie and I’ll Hatch Another easily outran second-place Bold Beaks, right, with jockey Calvin Borel aboard and Feather Duster, second from left with jockey John McKee in the saddle. The novelty race was part of the regular nine-race horse racing card at Ellis Park. (AP Photo/Garry Jones)

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Jockey Corey Lanerie, left, takes the lead aboard I’ll Hatch Another in the annual Ostrich Stakes race at Ellis Park race track in Henderson, Ky., Saturday, July 28, 2012. Lanerie and I’ll Hatch Another easily outran second-place Bold Beaks, right, with jockey Calvin Borel aboard and Feather Duster, second from left with jockey John McKee in the saddle. The novelty race was part of the regular nine-race horse racing card at Ellis Park. (AP Photo/Garry Jones)

Payton watching over Saints, even when he’s not there

The last thing Pierre Thomas expected to see was suspended head coach Sean Payton staring him down the moment he walked into the Saints’ indoor field.

“My first word that came out of my mouth was, ‘Wow.’ Then I said, ‘He’s mad,’ ” Thomas said Friday evening, following the second practice of training camp. “That’s the Payton look. He’s not always mad, but he gives that look and says, ‘Hey, I’m still watching you.’”

A massive mural of Payton’s piercing pursed-lip, squinted-eye glare was quietly hung in the indoor field earlier in the day, and it greeted the entire team when rain forced practice indoors.

The mural also includes the phrase, “Do your job,” which has become the unofficial motto of the club ever since Payton delivered those parting words before starting his season-long suspension in connection with the NFL’s bounty investigation.

Trivia time

In honor of sailing at the Olympics, what was the Skipper’s name on the television show “Gilligan’s Island”?

Training camp tweets

• From @NOTSportsCenter: Chargers sign QB Kyle Boller, who continues to get jobs despite his inability to hit water when falling out of a boat”

• From @EricStangel: “Anyone want to buy my Boller SD jersey?”

• From XX1090’s @MartyCaswell: “I guess when Boller told SD media after practice (Friday) that he’s taking it ‘one day at a time’ he actually meant it”

• From Vikings’ Chris Kluwe @ChrisWarcraft: “Today I told our strength coach my goal is to leave training camp with a six pack. His response — ‘There’s a liquor store down the street’”

But can he spell J-E-T-S?

Some are saying the sun has set on Rex Ryan’s tenure with the New York Jets. He takes offense.

“The fact that we’re picked fourth in our division or third by some — really?” Ryan said. “That challenges me. This isn’t the first time that people don’t believe in me, for whatever it is. But I’m going to come out and compete. If it was a spelling bee, maybe not, but anything else, if it’s a fight, I’m betting on me.”

Trivia answer

Real name Alan Hale, Jr., the “Skipper’s” name on the show was Jonas Grumby, revealed in the series opener.